UEFA Champions League
Good first half and Guerreiro goal not enough as BVB are held to 1-1 draw
Borussia Dortmund's wait for the first victory of their UEFA Champions League campaign continues after they were held to a 1-1 (1-0) draw at home to Cypriot outfit Apoel Nicosia on Matchday 4. While a berth in the last 16 of Europe's elite club competition remains mathematically possible, the focus in the final two group games is likely to be on wrapping up the third place finish that would see the Black & Yellows enter the UEFA Europa League after the winter break.
Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reporting
The 64,509 spectators at a below-capacity Signal Iduna Park saw BVB dominate proceedings in the opening half, deservedly opening the scoring through Guerreiro in the 29th minute and squandering numerous other chances. But Poté drew the visitors level against the run of play six minutes after the restart and, despite a subsequent onslaught by the hosts in which Aubameyang hit the woodwork in the 77th minute, the visitors held on for the point as the game ended all square.
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The scenario:
The two teams picked up the first point of their respective Champions League campaigns in the 1-1 draw in Cyprus a fortnight ago, but that still left them six points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid, who sat joint-top of Group H on seven points. "Until it's completely over, you've got to believe you have a chance, even if it's only small. That's what I'll do, and what the team will do" said coach Peter Bosz when asked about his side's prospects of reaching the knockout stages. Captain Marcel Schmelzer agreed, saying: "We still know in the back of our minds there's a small chance, and we want to win against Nicosia in any case."
Personnel matters:
The only players missing for the Black & Yellows were long-term injury absentees Piszczek (lateral collateral ligament), Reus (rehab), Rode (public bone) and Durm (hip operation). Peter Bosz nonetheless opted to make five changes to the team that lost to Hannover at the weekend, bringing in Toprak, Guerreiro, Weigl, Kagawa and Philipp in place of Zagadou, Schmelzer, Castro, Sahin and Yarmolenko. Apoel were missing goalkeeper Waterman, who suffered a serious shoulder injury when the sides met two weeks ago, as well as Roberto Lago and Bertoglio.
Tactics:
Apoel opted for a 5-4-1 formation in which their outfield players were largely camped in their own half and the midfield played right on top of the defence. Upon regaining possession, left-winger Aloneftis looked to get forward and offer lone frontman Poté some support. BVB, meanwhile, lined up in their usual 4-3-3 formation and opted for high-pressing tactics that meant almost the entire game was played in the opposition half. Unsurprisingly, it was a cagey affair. After the interval Nicosia switched to a 4-4-2 with Zahid playing alongside Poté in attack.
The match & analysis:
BVB were camped in and around their opponent's penalty area from the off and carved out a number of chances in the opening stages. However, Götze (6), Aubameyang (9), Pulisic (11) and Toprak (14) were all denied by Apoel's second-choice shot-stopper Perez, who did especially well with goal-line saves to deny the American and the Turk. Other attempts included a Weigl effort from 25 metres (7) and a Kagawa header from six metres (10), both of which sailed over the frame of the goal. The hosts dropped down a gear after the strong opening quarter of an hour but continued to press and kept Nicosia well away from their own goal.
Guerreiro breaks the deadlock
The Black & Yellows went up a notch again as the half-hour mark approached, eventually taking a deserved lead through Guerreiro when Kagawa spotted a gap in the visitors' rearguard. He flicked a first-time pass from Weigl straight into the path of the Portugal international, who picked his spot and slotted it into the top left corner from ten metres (29). Perez, who would have been beaten again a minute later if Merkis had not made a last-ditch clearance with Aubameyang lurking (30), was well beaten. Two minutes later, the Cypriot custodian made a save to keep out a dangerous effort from Kagawa (32).
Further opportunities, spurned by Aubameyang and Kagawa (37), were followed by another gilt-edged chance for the hosts. Philipp played a one-two with Götze on the edge of the six-yard box before attempting to pick out Aubameyang at the back post (38), though Ruede cleared the initial danger and the Gabon forward's – admittedly difficult – attempt at a scissor kick from the rebound was off target. Aubameyang was again in the thick of the action a minute later but he let the ball run away from him and could not get the necessary accuracy on his shot (39). Nicosia only threatened once before the interval, when Aloneftis broke through down the left and fizzed a cross into the middle. Philipp was on hand to thwart the danger with Alexandrou lurking (41).
Apoel saved by the woodwork
The hosts were then caught flat-footed early in the second half when Poté, seizing upon the visitors' first chance of the game, levelled the scores with a shot on the turn from six metres (52). Aloneftis started the move by driving forward down the left flank and playing the ball into the path of Carlao, whose cut-back from the byline was dispatched powerfully into the far corner by the Beninese forward. Kagawa had a chance to immediately re-establish the hosts' lead but his low effort from 18 metres sailed wide of the post (55).
BVB continued to search for the goal that would put them back in front. Götze missed from a diving heading following an Aubameyang cross (62) and Zahid cleared Toprak's header off the line from the ensuing corner. Philipp then caught Perez by surprise with a volley, although the shot-stopper was able to clear it for a corner (64) and later kept out a direct free-kick from Götze (76). Bosz's charges lacked precision in front of goal but could also consider themselves unlucky when Aubameyang's header rebounded off the bar (77). Schürrle shot narrowly wide and right in the 88th minute, before Aubameyang directed a close-range header centimetres wide of the right post in stoppage time (90+3). The last chance for a winner came when Götze narrowly missed from BVB's 30th shot of the game in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
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Prospects:
Next up on the fixture list is a top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash wth FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund on Saturday (18:30 CET). The BVB players will then link up with their countries over the international break, which will be followed by an away game at VfB Stuttgart on Friday 17 November (20:45 CET).